Thursday, February 20, 2014

Diving Deep for Sea Shells [Stella's memoir of her life in music] is now being published. We look forward to announcing the release date.

Here is an excerpt:

One day in
June of 1953, I had just come home from what would be my final lesson
with Mr. Cafarella. I received a phone call from Pete Candoli. He was a
well-known jazz trumpeter, and a member of Peg’s group. We had worked together
in the staff orchestra at ABC. I hadn’t seen him since leaving the
ABC staff orchestra. The conversation went something like this:

Pete: Stella… I’m at Peggy
Lee’s house. We are rehearsing with her group for an upcoming tour. We are beginning
our engagement at Ciro’s in one week. Peggy has always loved harp and wants to
add it to the quartet. Come on over, bring your harp and sit in!

Me: Pete, I just don’t
think I’m the person you want. How could I do that? I've never played jazz or
with jazz musicians!

Pete: I know how you play.
I used to listen to you playing alone backstage on broadcast breaks. You would
be noodling (a jazz slang word for improvising) around on the tunes. I know you
can do it. You know the tunes and you’ve got ears, so come on over and give it
a try!

(After much protesting, he
finally won.)

Me: Alright, I will give it a try.

Pete then gave
me directions to Peg's home in Holmby Hills, a section of Beverly Hills. I was simply
astounded. I had never met Peg nor given a thought to working in a jazz group.
The words “harp” and “Peggy Lee” didn’t seem to go together. Peg admired the
sounds of a harp. She had a recording of New York harpist Laura Newell’s
playing of Ravel’s Introduction and
Allegro. While at ABC, I liked to sit and run through tunes in different
ways. I didn’t know Pete had been listening or ever noticed. I wasn’t even
driving yet so I asked Daddy to take me. He loaded up my Lyon & Healy style
#22 in our station wagon and off we went. Daddy was excited for me.

We arrived while
they were in rehearsal that afternoon. The door opened and we were greeted by
Lillie Mae Hendrick. She was Peg’s cook and housekeeper. She said, “Come right
in! Miss Lee is expecting you in the living room where they are all rehearsing.”
Peg came up to me and extended a strong handshake. She said “Hi Stella, I'm Peggy.
Won’t you sit down with us and listen for a while? When you feel like
joining in, just jump in when you feel like it.” I listened to them go over their material and “hung
my ear out” as we say in jazz. You’re not reading music, you’re making music.
The group consisted of: Pete Candoli on trumpet, Martin “Marty” Paich on piano,
Joe Mondragon on bass and Frank Capp on drums. Today, Frank Capp leads the renowned jazz orchestra Juggernaut.

Well, that's
what happened. They were in the middle of Cole Porter's “I’ve Got You Under My
Skin.” I knew that song well. It was cemented in my memory. Somewhere around
the bridge (transitional passage connecting two sections of a song) I went to
the harp and began chording around. We were “faking” as the term goes, without
music. Playing in a jazz
group is “faking” of the highest order. And yet, perhaps “faking” is a
convenient but erroneous term. What the musician actually is doing is creating:
the endless colors of harmony with substitute and altered chords, the rhythmic
surprises of anticipation or suspension, the constant improvising on and away
from the melody and the give and take of rubato playing. All are the subtle
elements of jazz. We played jazz and the great songs I grew up loving and knowing. I
went through a few more songs with them. We went on for about an hour before Peg called
a break. She
said nothing to me regarding the rehearsal. I had no idea what Peg would be
like. I just knew that I liked her right away.